Automatic signal



April l2, 1932. c. w. STI-:MEN

AUTOMATIC SIGNAL Filed May s, 1931' 4 Sheets-Sheet l Lg O @Q -April A12, 1932. c. w. STEMEN AUTMATIC SIGNAL Filed May 8, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 12, 1932. Q w, STEMEN 1,853,472

AUTOMATIC S IGNAL Filed May 8, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IIIIIlllllllllllillllllllIIIIIHH ES 33,4, 1 K W April l2, 1932. C W, STEMEN 1,853,472

AUTOMATIC S GNAL Filed May 8, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr. 12, 1932 narran STATES lCILAR'EIN'CE W. STEMEN, OFKLIMA, OHIO AUTOMATIC SIGNAL Application led May 8, 1931. Serial No. 536,005.

rlhis invention relates to automatic signalling devices andhas 'for an object to provide a device for automatically blowing the whistle of a steam or electric train as it approaches a crossing. n

A further object is to provide mechanism operatively connected to the whistle and motor driven to produce a predetermined signal when the motor circuit is closed by a switch, one member of which is located on one of the cross ties, and the other member of which is preferably mounted on the frame of the locomotive or other part of the train.

A still further object is to provide a relay for maintaining the device energized `to produce the desired signal after the circuit has been momentarily closed by the train Vpassing over the track switch member.

A still further object is yto provide a circuit breaker operated by a pin on the whistleblowing cam for deenergizing the device, the momentum of the motor carrying the pin past the circuit breaker to reset the circuit breaker for the next operation.

A still further object is to provide an operative connection between the device and valve of the whistle which will permit of the whistle being blown by hand when desired without interfering with the automatic operation of the device, so that emergency signals may be blown as frequently as necessary.

A still further object is to provide an eX- tremely strong' and durable device which will be weather-proofand dust-proof and may be placed in any convenient location on the car or locomotive and will take its current from the usual lighting generator of the train.

With the above'and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and. claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the .appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificingany of the advantages of the invention. Y

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive equipped with my improved automatic whistle blower,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the apparatus, with the whistle showniin elevation, i

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view `through the apparatus, showing the parts in plan,`

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional viewtaken on the line 4--4 of Fig.2, y Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sec- 60 tional View, with parts in elevation, showing the track member and car member of the switch in contact,

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken'o the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, f 65 Fig. -7.is a diagrammaticview showing 5the electric circuits, and

Fig. 8 is a detail View showing a modified form of drive forthe cam..

rReferring now to the .drawings yin `which like characters of reference designate similar parts `in the various views, the whistleblowing device kis n shown, for the purpose of illustration, as beingappliedto a locomotive 10. y

Referring more especially. to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that a block 11 ofwood or other desired insulating yor other material, hereinafter termed a shunt block, -is lagged to a cross tie 12 `near `the approach to a crossing. 80 The top vsurface ofthe lblockis arched-.and projects/about an inch more orless abovethe adjacent `rail 13. Countersunk openings are formed in the block to receive the lag screws 14. A metalcontact plate 15,formed ofcop- 85 per or other material, is shaped to fit the-top of the block and is rmly attachedthereto by bolts, screws or other similar connections. This block, with its metal cover, formsone member of a switch.

The other member of the switch is formed by a pair of laminated brushes 16 which are secured to a7 block 17 of insulating material which may be bolted, as shown at `18, or otherwise rigidlysecured to the frame 19 of the lo- 95 comotive or other convenient part of the train so that the brushes 16 will have wiping contact with the contact plate 15 of the shunt block `as the train` passes thereover. The brushes momentarily 'close an `electric circuit, 'm0

I as shown at 25, to a bracket 26 which preferably is clamped to the steam pipe 27, and the upper end of which is insertedbetween the lower end of the bell crank lever and the valve stem 23. A'push rod 25 is connected to the link by means of a clevis 26 and pin 27, and when the push rod is moved forwardly, as will be hereinafter described in detail, the whistle may be blown automatically without interfering with the manual operation of the cord-operated crank 21 to blow vthe whistle manually when desired.

Referring now more-particularly to Figs. 2, 3l andl 4, itV .will be seen that the push rod passes through a stuffing box 28 in the end wall of a casing 29 which-may be disposed in the cab or on the boiler or at other desired location.V Disposed within the casing sc as to be protected from the weather anddust, there'is a motor 30 which may be operated from the lighting or other electric circuitof thetrain and which is controlled by a relay operated initially by the track switch and as will hereinafter be more fully explained. The motor is geared to a cam shaft 31 by means of a suitable gear train comprising gears 32, 33 and 34 and pinions 35, 36 and 37 suitably mounted on shafts 38, 39 and 40 ourna-led on pointed screws, designated in general by the numeral 41, said screws being carried by a frame 42 and held in adjusted position by amb nuts 43.

However, the gear train may be eliminated if desired, and, as'shown in Fig. 8, a worm 44 may be mounted on the motor shaft 45 to mesh with a gear 46 keyed to the cam shaft 47. Other operative connections between the motor shaft and cam shaft may be utilized v in lieu of either of the mechanisms described.

A cam 48 of any suitable material is fiXed to the cam shaft and is of suitable configurations -to produce any desired combination of long land short blasts of the whistle, as will presently appear. A substantially right angular rocker'arm 49 is pivoted at Vthe elbow, as shown'at 50, on the frame 42, and one end of the arm is equipped with a roller 51 which rides on the periphery of the cam. The opposite end of the rocker Yarm is slotted, as shown at 52, to receive a clevis pin 53 carried by a clevis V54 secured to the inner end of the above-mentioned push rod 25. `It is now clear vthat when the cam is rotated through a complete revolution, the raised portions Of relay coil.

the cam will elevate the roller 51 and push the push rod 25 to produce a blast from the whistle, the spring 55 of the whistle valve stem returning the push rod to cause the roller to follow the contour of the cam in the usuall manner.

The relay for controlling the motor vwill now be described. As shown best in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the relay is housed in a suitable dust-proof and weather-proof casing 56 removably secured tothe rear end wall of the first-mentioned casing 29 by means of screws 57 or otherwise. The relay core 58 is preferably of F shape and is mounted on a suitable block 59 of insulation, and carries the usual coil 60. The relay armature 61 bridges both branches of the F-shapedcore, as best shown in Fig. 2, and is mounted on the upper end of the arm 62, the lower end of the latter being fixed to a rock shaft 63.L A bracket 64, best shown in Fig. 2, limits movement of the armature away from the core, and, preferably, the armature is loosely mounted on the arm 62 by means of a pin 65 which passes through the arm, a spring 66 being mounted on the pin and held under any desired tension by a nut 67.

lPhe above mentioned rock shaft 63 is journa-led at the ends on pointed screws 68 carried by brackets 69, jamb nuts 70 being provided on the screws to permit of suitable endwise adjustment ofl `the `rock shaft.

Disposed` on the rock shaft is a spring contact 71 the purpose of which is to hold the relay energized after the circuit is momentarily made by the trainpassing over the track switch, as will hereinafter be more fully described, and also disposed on the rock shaft is a pair of spring contacts 72 each of which is connected at one end with a corresponding terminal 73 connected in circuit with the motor. The free ends of the contacts 72 engage corresponding contacts 74, disposed on the insulation block 59, when the rock shaft is rocked inwardly by energizing of tbe relay, and these contacts are connected vin circuit with thermain current supply, such as the train supply generator, as indicated diagrammafically in Fig. 7.

In wiring the appara-tus, it will be seen that a contact 75 disposed on the insulation block 59 is connected in circuit by conductor wires 76 and 77 with the generator and with one of the spring arms 16 forming the movable member of the track switch and carried by the frame of the locomotive. The other spring arm 16 of saidswitch is connected by a Conductor wire 78 with one terminal of the The .other terminal of the relay coil is connected by a conductor wire 79 with the movable arm 80 of a circuit breaker, which will be hereinafter fully described, the fixed arm 81 of which is connected by a conductor wire 82 in circuit with the generator, as shown.

Thus, briefly, it will be seen that when the train passes over the shunt block, the contact arms 16 will be bridged by the metal plate on the shunt block, thereby closing the circuit at this point from the generator through the conductor wires 76, 7 7 and conductor wire 78, to the relay coil, and from thence to the conductor wire 79 through vthe closed arms 80 and 81 of the circuit breaker, and from thence to the conductor wire 82 to the generator, whereby the relay coilis ener gized and the armature 61 is attracted, with resultant rocking of the shaft 63 to rotate the contacts 72 into engagement with the .contacts 74. The current then also flows from the generator through these contacts and through the terminals 73 to the motonenergizing the motor, with resultantY rotation of the cam 48 toblow the whistle.

Again referring to Fig. 7, it will be observed that a conduit wire 88 connects the Aabove mentioned contact 71 with the lead wire 78 of the relay coil. When the circuit is momentarily closed at the track switch to energize the relay coil, the contact 71 carried by the rock shaft 63 will be rocked into engagementwith the above-mentioned contact due to movement of the armature communicated to the rock shaft 63, and will maintain the relay coil energized, by short circuiting the relay circuit through the lead wire 78, after said circuit has been opened at the track switch by the train passing beyond the shunt block. Energizing of the relay coil will thus be continued, while. simultaneously. the circuit from the generator to the motor is maintained closed by the rock shaft holding the contacts 72 in engagement with the contacts 74.

l/V hen the cam has made one complete revolution, the arm 80 of the circuit breaker is struck by a laterally disposed pin 84 carried by the cam, as best shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the arm is raised and the circuit broken at the contact points 85 of the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker is connected in series with the relay coil, as above explained. When the circuit breaker is opened bythe pin, the relay coil will be cle-energized, allowing the armature to dron back until stopped by the stop arm 64. While gravitating the armature rotates the rock shaft in a retrograde direction to disengage the contacts 72 from the contacts 7 4 in the motor circuit and open the motor circuit so that the motor also is deenergized.

The circuit breaker, consisting of the horizontal spring arms 8O and 81 separated by a block 86 of insulating material, is secured to a bracket 87, as best shown in Fig. 2, carried by the `frame 4Q, and overhangs the cam. Thus the movable arm 80 is struck by the pin 84 just as the pin is passing over top center. The momentum of the motor carries the pin 84 onwardly, thus permitting the spring arm 8O to drop after the pin passes therebeyond, and close the Vcontacts 85 to set the circuit .breaker for the neXt operation.

It desired, a switch 88 of the push button type may be connected acrossl the leads 7 7 and 7 8 of thevswitch arms 16 to close the circuit from the main source of `supply through the relay and produce the above cycle of operations whenever 'it is desired to electrically blow the whistle for emergency signals.

F or cont-rolling the speed of the motor, a rheostat 89 .is mounted in the end wall of the casing 29 and is connected in the motor circuit as desired. Additional adjust-ment of the motor speed may be made by other resistances located in the field of the motor if de- Sired, it being merely beneficial that somey means of motor speed control be utilized to control the speed of the cam 48.

,From the above description, it is thought hat the construction and operation of my invention will be Jfully understood without further explanation; f

Having thus described the invention. I claim: i

1. The combination with a train whistle, of a motor, a cam driven thereby and operatively connected to the whistle for blowing the whistle, a generator, a switch having coactmg members carried by the train and track, a relay electrically connected in circuit with the switch and with the motor and generator and adapted to close the motor circuit upon closing of said switch, means operated by the relay to maintain the relay energized after the switch is opened, and means operated by the cam to de-energize the relay and simultaneously open the motor circuit at a predetermined point in the rotation of the cam.

p2. The combination with a train whistle, or a motor, a cam driven thereby and operativelyconnected to the whistle for blowing the. whistle, a generator, a switch having coactmg members carried by the train andby the track, a relay electrically 'connected in circniJ with the switch and with the motor ano generator' and adapted to close the `motor circuit upon closing of said switch, a contact for short circuiting the relay circuit to said switch and moved by the relay to maintain the relay circuit closed after opening of said switch, and a circuit breaker opened by the cam at a point in its travel to open the relayA and motor circuit.

3. The combination with a train whistle, of a motor, a` generatoiga cam geared-to the motor and operatively connected. to the whistle for blowing the whistle, a switch having coacting members carried bythe train and track, a relay connected in circuit with the switch and with the motor and the generator and adapted to be energized by closing of the switch, a rock sha-ft movable as a unit with the "armature of the relay, contacts carried by the shaft for closing the motor circuit when the relay is energized, an additional contact carried by the shaft for short circuiting said switch and maintaining the relay energized aft-er said switch is opened, and a circuit breaker operated by Vthe cam to der-energize the relay at a pre* determined point in the rotation of thecam.

4. The combination with a train whistle, of a pivoted lever on the whistle for opening the valve of the whistle, a push rod connectedV tothe lever for moving'the lever, a casing, a motor housed in the casing, a cam operatively connected to the motor to be driven thereby, a pivoted angular lever connected to the push rod and having a Vroller riding on the periphery of the cam, a switch having coacting members carried by the train and track, a generator, a relay electrically connected in circuit with the switch and with the motor and the generator and adapted to close the motor circuit upon closing of said switch, means operated by the'relay to maintain the relay energized after the switch is Opened, and means operated by the cam to cle-energize the relay and simultaneously open the motor circuit at a predetermined point in the rotation of the cam.

V5. The combination with a train whistle,

of a motor, a cam driven thereby and operatively connected to thewhi'stle for blowing the whistle, Va generator, a switch having cacting members carried by the train and track, a relay electrically connected in circuit with the switch and with the motor and generator and adapted to close the motor circuit upon closing of said switch, means operated by the relay to maintain the relay energized after the switch is opened, a laterally dis- Y posed pin on the cam, and a circuit breaker overhanging the Vcam and disposed in the Y.

path of the pin to be opened by the pin at a. point in its travel, said circuit breaker being electrically connected in series withV the relay for de-energizinon the relay to open Athe motor circuit when the pin impinges against the kcircuit breaker.

6. The combination with a train whistle, 0f a motor, a Cam driven thereby and opera-v tively connected to the Vwhistle for blowing Ythe whistle, a generator, a switch having coacting members carried by the train and track, a. relay electrically connected in circuit with the switch and with the motor and generator and adapted to close the motor circuit upon closing of said switch, a Contact moved by the relay armature-for short circuiting the switch to maintain the relay energized after opening Yof'said switch, a lateral pin carried by the cam, and a circuit breaker in the path of movement of the pin adapted to be opened by the pin to open the relay circuit and deenergize the relay, said circuit-breaker being positioned to be struck brushes insulated from each other and adaptn ed to be secured to the train to have wiping Contact with said plate and forming the other member of said switch, a relay electrically connected in circuit with said brushes and vwith the motor and generator and adapted to close the motor circuit upon contact of said brushes with said plate, means operatedby the relay to maintain the-relay energized after said brushes progress beyond said plate, and means operated by the cam to cle-energize the relay and simultaneously openthe motor circuit at a predetermined point in the rotation of' the cam.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

VCLARENCE W. STEMEN. [L s] 

